DOCSLIB.ORG

Diffusion of Islamic Discourse : Saudi and Iranian Influence in Lagos and Cape Town

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Diffusion of Islamic Discourse : Saudi and Iranian Influence in Lagos and Cape Town INSTITUT D ’É TUDES POLITIQUES DE PARIS PARIS SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY DIFFUSION OF ISLAMIC DISCOURSE : SAUDI AND IRANIAN INFLUENCE IN LAGOS AND CAPE TOWN TORE REFSLUND HAMMING Thesis directed by Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor at Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA)and Researcher atCentre d’Études de Relations Internationales (CERI) MARCH 2014 Jury: M. Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor M. Andreas Roessner, Academic Advisor Mme Laurence Louër, Chargée de Recherche CERI The copyright of this Master's thesis remains the property of its author. No part of the content may be reproduced, published, distributed, copied or stored for public or private use without written permission of the author. All authorisation requests should be sent to [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENT Abstract i Preface iii Acknowledgements v Glossary vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Research prism and clarification 3 Outline 6 Clarification of terminology 6 Theoretical Framework and Methodology 8 Research design 13 CHAPTER 2 SAUDI – IRAN RELATIONS:A SOFT POWER SUPREMACY DILEMMA 16 A political and historical perspective 17 A sectarian perspective 18 Soft power dilemma: Diffusing religion for regional supremacy 20 CHAPTER 3 ISLAMIC DOCTRINE AND DISCOURSE IN LAGOS 23 Challenging existing structures:Newcomers to a monopolised field 25 The emergence of Salafi doctrine 29 Saudi inspiration and interference 33 The role of Shiism and the relation to Iran 35 Transformation of the Islamic field:The importance of education 38 Conclusive remarks:The transformative power of the educated youth 40 CHAPTER 4 ISLAMIC DOCTRINE AND DISCOURSE IN CAPE TOWN 43 Religion turning increasingly public and pluralistic 44 The emergence of Shiism in Cape Town 46 The emergence of Salafism:Literalism in a tolerant community 48 A Sunni-Shia sectarian struggle 53 The transnational character of Shiism and Salafism 55 Conclusive remarks:Field transformation and limitations 57 CHAPTER 5 EXPLAINING RELIGIOUS DIFFUSION: THE APPLICABILITY OF THE ISLAMIC COLD WAR PRISM 60 Assessing religious diffusion 61 Limits of the Islamic Cold War prism 64 What does it indicate for the future? 64 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 67 Annex: Maps 70 Lagos 70 Cape Town 71 Bibliography 72 ABSTRACT From the context of the Islamic Cold War between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, this thesis examines the diffusion of Salafi and Shia doctrines to Sub- Saharan Africa through case studies of Lagos and Cape Town. It is my hypothesis that the Islamic Cold War and the Saudi-Iranian struggle for regional hegemony – a dynamic I define as a soft power supremacy dilemma – can partly explain the diffusion of religious doctrine and the emergence of Salafism and Shiism south of Sahara. To assess the explanatory prowess of this hypothesis and to understand the development of Islamic doctrine in Sub-Saharan African, I seek to provide answers for three interrelated questions: (1) to what extent are the religious discourses of Saudi Arabia and Iran diffused to Lagos and Cape Town and how can such diffusion be interpreted in the context of an Islamic Cold War and their struggle for regional power?, (2) at what level of interaction and through which types of actors is religious diffusion occurring?, and (3) what is the reciprocal influence of Salafi and Shia doctrines in the local environments of Lagos and Cape Town? To answer these questions, I apply a methodological framework, which takes it inspiration from French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptualisation of social fields as an interpretative grid open for analysis. This framework helps identify intra-field contestation for religious authority and thus enables analysis of field dynamics and transformation. The main foundation of empirical data in constituted by first-hand interviews and observations conducted during two months of fieldwork in Lagos and Cape Town, respectively. Having studied and interacted with Islamic culture and having held several meetings with Salafis and Shias in Lagos and Cape Town, the thesis presents three broad conclusions; first, since the 1960s-70s, both Lagos and Cape Town have experienced increased pluralism within the Islamic field affecting the structures of the field. Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been equated with prominent Sufi brotherhoods and moderate and tolerant religious interpretation, but the emergence of several new doctrines is challenging Sufism’s monopolisation of Islamic discourse. New actors – Salafis in particular – have to a great extent succeeded in transforming both doctrine and discourse by emphasising the importance of religious knowledge. Second, the emergence of new doctrines has led to a radicalisation of Islamic discourse with the dual objective of consolidation and condemnation. The debate focuses on issues such as ‘what constitutes religious knowledge’ and ‘what true Islam is’ resulting in reciprocal accusations of heresy and bid’a and leading to what could be defined an Islamic revivalism. Third, the emergence of Salafism and Shiism in Lagos and Cape Town is a result of interaction with Saudi and Iranian actors and institutions. Primarily occurring through educational institutions, this diffusion can be attributed to the Islamic Cold War and i its inherent logic. I argue that Saudi and Iranian diffusion has been paramount to the emergence of new doctrines, but that it is inadequate to understand the further development of Salafi and Shia doctrine within the local environments of Lagos and Cape Town. PREFACE The initial idea for this thesis came about in my first semester at Sciences Po during a casual talk with my academic tutor on the topic of preparing for a future Ph.D. application. Discussing my interests in the Middle East and Africa, she made a remark on the struggle between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran for Islamic domination in Sub-Saharan Africa. As I was really interested in applying a transcontinental or transregional research focus, I started to get interested in the topic and conducted some basic iii research to attain more knowledge. However, the absence of information was striking – particularly when researching the transregional religious influence, which was my greatest interest. Academics gaps of knowledge are found in abundance, but my fascination for the study of radical Islamic doctrines like Salafism and Shiism and the evident volatility of religious affiliation in Sub-Saharan communities triggered my curiosity. In the following months, ideas and assumptions were discussed with my supervisor, which helped me only understand the substance but also in guiding me in critical choices regarding research design and methodology. As it was a clear ambition from the start to provide information and analysis to a topic lacking sufficient academic research, it was paramount to me that the main sources underlying the analysis were attained through first-hand empirical data. This led me two months to first Lagos and then Cape Town, where I got to conduct interviews, observe, and reflect. The results are presented through the following 100 pages. A few months of field work and a master thesis however, is not sufficient to fill the gap of knowledge and thus more studies are necessary to truly understand how Islamic doctrine is developing in Sub-Saharan Africa and how this development to some extent in influenced by external actors including Saudi Arabia and Iran. If nothing more, I consider the findings of this thesis relevant to better understand these dynamics and hope that it will not only add to the scholarly perception of Islam in Sub- Saharan Africa and the dynamics of the Islamic Cold War, but also that my findings will be used in future examinations related to Islam in Africa. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I regard this thesis an integral part of my master degree at Sciences Po, I would like to thank the Paris School of International Affairs for letting me engage on the thrilling and v highly challenging task it has been to conduct the research resulting in this master thesis and not least for allowing me to travel to Nigeria amid high instability. Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisor Stéphane Lacroix for our talks and his guidance, which not only helped as clarification for also as an incredible source of inspiration. From my time in the field, much appreciation goes to my research assistant Usman Abdulmalik Aliyu, whose assistance in introducing me to local Muslims and in translating interviews was immense. A further thanks needs to be extended to all the persons I interviewed in Lagos and Cape Town. Their general openness and generosity not only made my job feasible, but also provided me with incredibly interesting perspectives on how Muslim communities are developing in the two Sub-Saharan metropolises. Lastly, I would like to thank the Kuwait Program at Sciences Po for awarding me the mobility grant, which made my fieldwork in Lagos and Cape Town possible. As first-hand interviews have been critical to understand and examine the research topic and to obtain knowledge absent in existing academic literature, their financial assistance has been essential to the quality and final result of the thesis. GLOSSARY Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’a Literally, ‘the people of the tradition and the group’. AhlulBayt or Ahl al-Bayt Literally, ‘the people of the house’ referring to the members of the family of the Prophet Muhammad. ‘aqida The creed. The dominant conception in the Sunni world is the Ash’arite creed, which gives a limited role to reason in theological speculation. This conception is fiercely challenged by Salafis. Ash’ari A Sunni school of Islam after Imam Abu al-Hasan al- Ash’ari. See above. ashura Celebration that takes place on the tenth day of the Muslim month of Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. It is marked by processions of men dressed in black, who flagellate themselves as a sign of penitence.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Sufi Reading of Jesus
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of Sydney: Sydney eScholarship Journals... Representations of Jesus in Islamic Mysticism: Defining the „Sufi Jesus‟ Milad Milani Created from the wine of love, Only love remains when I die. (Rumi)1 I‟ve seen a world without a trace of death, All atoms here have Jesus‟ pure breath. (Rumi)2 Introduction This article examines the limits touched by one religious tradition (Islam) in its particular approach to an important symbolic structure within another religious tradition (Christianity), examining how such a relationship on the peripheries of both these faiths can be better apprehended. At the heart of this discourse is the thematic of love. Indeed, the Qur’an and other Islamic materials do not readily yield an explicit reference to love in the way that such a notion is found within Christianity and the figure of Jesus. This is not to say that „love‟ is altogether absent from Islamic religion, since every Qur‟anic chapter, except for the ninth (surat at-tawbah), is prefaced In the Name of God; the Merciful, the Most Kind (bismillahi r-rahmani r-rahim). Love (Arabic habb; Persian Ishq), however, becomes a foremost concern of Muslim mystics, who from the ninth century onward adopted the theme to convey their experience of longing for God. Sufi references to the theme of love starts with Rabia al-Adawiyya (717-801) and expand outward from there in a powerful tradition. Although not always synonymous with the figure of Jesus, this tradition does, in due course, find a distinct compatibility with him.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to the Salafi Da'wah
    www.ahlulhadeeth.wordpress.com Introduction The Salafi Da’wah is that of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It is the Religion of Islam - pure and free from any additions, deletions or alterations. It is An Introduction to adhere to the Path of the Messenger (sallal- lahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and of the True Believers (as- Salaf us-Salih). As-Salaf is a collective term referring to to the Salafi the Pious Pioneers in Islam and all those who follow in their footsteps in belief, actions and morals. Allah said, “Whoever con- tends with and contradicts the Messenger after guidance has been clearly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that of the Faith- Da’wah ful Believers, We shall leave him in the Path he has chosen and land him in Hell, what an evil destination! [An Nisa 4:115]. Shaikh ul-lslam ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) com- mented on this ayah: “All who contradict and oppose the Messenger (S), after the right path has been clearly shown to them, have followed other than the Path of the Believers. And all who follow other than the Path of the Believers have contradicted and opposed the Messenger (S). If one thinks that he is mistaken in following the Path of the Faithful Believers, he is in the same position as one who thinks that he is mistaken in following the Messenger (S).” Who are the “Salaf ?” As-Salaf us-Salih (or briefly: the Salaf) refers to the first and best three generations of Muslims. They are the Companions (Sahabah) of the Prophet (S), their immediate followers (Tabiun), and the followers of the Tabi’in.
    [Show full text]
  • BLACK ISLAM SOUTH AFRICA Religious Territoriality, Conversion
    BLACK ISLAM SOUTH AFRICA Religious Territoriality, Conversion, and the Transgression of Orderly Indigeneity Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades Dr. phil. im Promotionsfach Geographie am Fachbereich Chemie, Pharmazie, Geographie und Geowissenschaften der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz vorgelegt von Matthias Gebauer geb. in Lichtenfels 2019 i Abstract Social alienation and the struggle to belong in the South African society are not only matters of political discourse but touch the practical sphere of everyday life in the respective places of residence. This thesis therefore approaches the entanglements of religion and space within the processes of re-ordering African indigeneity in post-apartheid South Africa. It asks how conversion to Islam constitutes the longing for a post-colonial and post-racialized African self. This study specifically engages with dynamics surrounding Black and Muslim practices and identity politics in formerly demarcated Black African areas. Here, even after the official end of apartheid, spatial racialization and social inequalities persist. Modes of orderings rooted in colonialism and apartheid still define what orderly belonging and African indigeneity mean. Thus, the inhabitants of those spaces find themselves in situations every day in which their habitat continuously ascribes oppression and racialization. The post-1994 promise for equal citizenship seems to be slowly fading, becoming a broken promise, on whose fulfillment the majority of people who were previously—by official definition and demarcation—only granted the right of being a migratory workforce, sojourners in the White spaces, are still waiting. Against this background, this thesis engages with the attempts to reformulate and recreate African indigeneity on the basis of a counter-hegemonic ideology of being Black and Muslim.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of the Sun As Ἡγεμονικόν in the Stoa and in Manilius’ Astronomica Nº 21, Sep.-Dec
    Eduardo Boechat - Universidade de Brasilia (Brazil) [email protected] The concept of the Sun as ἡγεμονικόν in the Stoa and in Manilius’ Astronomica nº 21, sep.-dec. 2017 BOECHAT, E. (2017). The concept of the Sun as ἡγεμονικόν in the Stoa and in Manilius’ Astronomica. Archai nº21, sep.-dec., p. 79-125 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14195/1984 -249X_21_3 Abstract: Hegemonikon in Stoic vocabulary is the technical term for the chief part or ‘command-centre’ of the soul. As we know, the Stoics considered the cosmos a living organism, and they theorised both about the human soul’s Hegemonikon and about its counterpart in the World-soul. My ultimate purpose in this paper is to show that the Stoic concept of the cosmic hegemonikon can be observed in Manilius’ Astro- nomica. The paper is divided into two parts. To begin with, I will examine and discuss the evidence concerning this concept in the relevant texts of the Early and Middle Stoa. The analysis will indicate that the concept of hegemonikon could involve a background of astronomical theory which some scholars attribute to the Stoic Posidonius. In the second section, I will go on to relate the concept of hegemonikon to the doctrines conveyed by Manilius. Additionally, we shall 79 see that Manilius’ polemic allusions to Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura suggest that the concept was intensely debated in the Post-Hellenistic philosophical circles. Keywords: Ancient Cosmology; Stoics; Manilius; Greek Astrology. nº 21, sep.-dec. 2017 Eduardo Boechat, ‘The concept of the Sun as ἡγεμονικόν in the Stoa and in Manilius’ Astro- nomica.’, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Access-Controlled High-Speed Corridor Project, 129 Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin, 19–20 Agwani, M. S., 64 Ahl-I-Hadith Movement
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-08026-3 - Limits of Islamism: Jamaat-e-Islami in Contemporary India and Bangladesh Maidul Islam Index More information Index 335 Index Access-Controlled High-Speed Corridor ‘available’/‘availability,’ concept of, 10 Project, 129 Awami League, 175–179, 184, 187–188, Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin, 19–20 195, 199, 204, 212, 219, 226, 230–232 Agwani, M. S., 64 Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam, 105 Ahl-i-Hadith movement, 180 Azam, Ghulam, 176, 194, 208, 218, 221 , Ahmed, Akbar, 49 232, 247-248 Ahmed, Justice Shahabuddin, 218 Ahmed, Raisuddin, 146 Alhle-e-Hadees, 113 Baathist regime of Iraq, 18 Ali, Maulana Karamat, 181 Babri Masjid Action Committee, 108 Ali, Maulana Wilayet, 180 Babri mosque demolition, 106 Ali, Mawlana Inayat, 180 Bandung Conference, 31 Ali, Syed Ameer, 181 Bangladesh Ali, T. Arif, 135, 137, 144 altered status quo, politics of, 189 All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimin anti-Ershad movement, 176–177 (AIMIM), 108 anti-Indian sentiments in, 233–234 All India United Democratic Front Constitution of, 176 (AIUDF), 108 disinvestment of profit-making Al-Qaeda, 6–7, 51 ‘state-owned enterprises,’ 201 al-Rāwandī, Ibn, 17 failure of Left movement in, 178–179 al-Rāzī (Rhazes), Abu Bakr, 17 inclusion and exclusion, politics of, Al-Sadr, Moqtada, 30 188 American imperialism, 31, 120 Islam as a political symbol in, protests against, 106–107, 124–125 175–178 vs Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), 111 Islamic symbols in Bangladeshi Amin, Samir, 11–13, 29, 46, 55, 187–188 politics, 179 Ansari, M. A., 105 Islamist parties in, 204
    [Show full text]
  • Ebrahim E. I. Moosa
    January 2016 Ebrahim E. I. Moosa Keough School of Global Affairs Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies University of Notre Dame 100 Hesburgh Center for International Studies, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA 46556-5677 [email protected] www.ebrahimmoosa.com Education Degrees and Diplomas 1995 Ph.D, University of Cape Town Dissertation Title: The Legal Philosophy of al-Ghazali: Law, Language and Theology in al-Mustasfa 1989 M.A. University of Cape Town Thesis Title: The Application of Muslim Personal and Family Law in South Africa: Law, Ideology and Socio-Political Implications. 1983 Post-graduate diploma (Journalism) The City University London, United Kingdom 1982 B.A. (Pass) Kanpur University Kanpur, India 1981 ‘Alimiyya Degree Darul ʿUlum Nadwatul ʿUlama Lucknow, India Professional History Fall 2014 Professor of Islamic Studies University of Notre Dame Keough School for Global Affairs 1 Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies & Department of History Co-director, Contending Modernities Previously employed at the University of Cape Town (1989-2001), Stanford University (visiting professor 1998-2001) and Duke University (2001-2014) Major Research Interests Historical Studies: law, moral philosophy, juristic theology– medieval studies, with special reference to al-Ghazali; Qur’anic exegesis and hermeneutics Muslim Intellectual Traditions of South Asia: Madrasas of India and Pakistan; intellectual trends in Deoband school Muslim Ethics medical ethics and bioethics, Muslim family law, Islam and constitutional law; modern Islamic law Critical Thought: law and identity; religion and modernity, with special attention to human rights and pluralism Minor Research Interests history of religions; sociology of knowledge; philosophy of religion Publications Monographs Published Books What is a Madrasa? University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2015): 290.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Nigeria
    The Precarious Agenda: Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Nigeria Akintunde E. Akinade, High Point University High Point, North Carolina The following lecture was given in Professor Jane Smiths' "Essentials of Christian-Muslim Relations" class in the summer of 2002. The task of mapping out the contemporary challenges to, cleavages within, and contours of Christianity is indeed daunting. Philip Jenkins has recently written a persuasive monograph on the constant flux and fluidity within “the next Christendom.” I agree with him that one of the most persistent challenges for contemporary Christianity is how to respond to the compelling presence of Islam in many parts of the world today. He rightly maintains, “Christian-Muslim conflict may in fact prove one of the closest analogies between the Christian world that was and the one coming into being.”1 This paper examines the contemporary paradigms and models of Christian-Muslim relations in contemporary Nigeria. With a population of over 120 million people, Nigeria has been described by Archbishop Teissier of Algiers as “the greatest Islamo-Christian nation in the world.”2 By this he means that there is no other nation where so many Christians and Muslims live side-by-side. This reality makes Nigeria an important test case for developing patterns of Christian-Muslim relations in Africa. Nigeria provides a rich context for understanding the cultural, social, economic, and political issues that are involved in the Christian-Muslim encounter. Relations between Christianity and Islam over a period of fourteen centuries have ranged from conflict to concord, from polemics to dialogue, from commercial cooperation to open confrontation.
    [Show full text]
  • Indonesia's Salafist Sufis
    Modern Asian Studies 44, 5 (2010) pp. 1029–1051. C Cambridge University Press 2009 doi:10.1017/S0026749X09990278 First published online 23 December 2009 Indonesia’s Salafist Sufis1 JULIA DAY HOWELL Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia Email: j.howell@griffith.edu.au Abstract Islam’s devotional and mystical tradition, Sufism (tasawwuf), is commonly cast as antithetical to Salafi Islam. Self-identified ‘Salafis’, with their ideological roots in anti-liberal strands of twentieth-century modernist Islam, do commonly view Sufis as heretics propagating practices wrongly introduced into Islam centuries after the time of the pious ancestors (the Salaf). Yet reformist zeal that fixes on the singular importance of the Salaf (particularly the Prophet Muhammad and his principal companions) as models for correct piety can also be found amongst Sufis. This paper calls attention to the Salafist colouration of Sufism in two areas of popular culture: television preaching and the popular religious ‘how-to’ books and DVDs that make the preachers’ messages available for purchase. It reprises the teachings of two of the best known Indonesian Muslim televangelists, ‘Hamka’ (b. 1908,d.1981) and M. Arifin Ilham (b. 1969), both of whom also happen to be champions of Sufism, and analyses the different rhetorical uses each has made of references to the ‘Salaf’ and the notion of ‘Salafist’ Islam. Introduction Islam’s devotional and mystical tradition, Sufism (tasawwuf), is commonly cast as antithetical to Salafi Islam. Self-identified ‘Salafis’, with their ideological roots in anti-liberal strands of twentieth- century modernist Islam, commonly view Sufis as heretics propagating practices wrongly introduced into Islam centuries after the time of the 1 The assistance of the Australian Research Council, which supported the research on which this paper is based with a Discovery grant, is acknowledged with appreciation.
    [Show full text]
  • CC1: Invitation to Philosophy
    CC1: Invitation to Philosophy Topic Lectures in terms of Weeks Unit 1: The Nature of Philosophy - 1st-2nd week The Nature of Philosophical Thinking Philosophy as critical Inquiry 2nd-3rd Week Philosophical and Scientific Questions: 3rd-4th Week Differences and Similarities Unit II: Methods in Philosophy - 4th-5th Week Socratic Method Linguistic Analysis 5th- 6th Week Phenomenological Method 6th -7th Week Deconstruction 7th-8th Week Unit III: Fundamental issues in 8th 9th Week Philosophy - Knowledge and Skepticism What is reality? Philosophical Theories of 9th- 11th Week the nature of reality Importance of asking moral questions in 11th- 13th Week everyday Life: Right and wrong, Good life and Happiness Unit IV:Ways of Doing Philosophy in 13th -14th Week the East - Indian Philosophy Chinese Philosophy 14th -15th Week Islamic Philosophy 15th -16th Week CC 2: History of Greek and Medieval Philosophy Topic Lectures in terms of Weeks Unit I: Pre-Socratic Philosophers 1st to 3rd Week Socratic Philosophy 3rd to 4th Week Unit II: Plato: 4th to 5th Week Introduction, Theory of knowledge 5th to 7thWeek Plato: Theory of knowledge: Knowledge(episteme), and Opinion(doxa) 7th to 8th Week Plato: Theory of Forms, Soul, Idea of God Unit III: Aristotle: 8th to 10th Week Introduction, Critique of Plato’s theory of Forms Aristotle: Theory of Causation 10th to 11th Week Aristotle: Categories, God 11th to 12th Week Unit IV: St. Thomas Aquinas: 12th to 13th Week faith and reason; essence and existence; St. Thomas Aquinas: proofs for the existence of God 13th to 14th Week St. Augustine 14th to 16th Week PHIL 0301: History of Western Epistemology and Metaphysics Topic No.
    [Show full text]
  • A Strategy for Success in Libya
    A Strategy for Success in Libya Emily Estelle NOVEMBER 2017 A Strategy for Success in Libya Emily Estelle NOVEMBER 2017 AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE © 2017 by the American Enterprise Institute. All rights reserved. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational organization and does not take institutional positions on any issues. The views expressed here are those of the author(s). Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................1 Why the US Must Act in Libya Now ............................................................................................................................1 Wrong Problem, Wrong Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 2 What to Do ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Reframing US Policy in Libya .................................................................................................. 5 America’s Opportunity in Libya ................................................................................................................................. 6 The US Approach in Libya ............................................................................................................................................ 6 The Current Situation
    [Show full text]
  • Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2020 Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia Zahra F. Syed The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3785 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD IN SOUTH ASIA by ZAHRA SYED A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in [program] in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2020 © 2020 ZAHRA SYED All Rights Reserved ii Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia by Zahra Syed This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Middle Eastern Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. _______________ _________________________________________________ Date Kristina Richardson Thesis Advisor ______________ ________________________________________________ Date Simon Davis Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia by Zahra Syed Advisor: Kristina Richardson Many Sufi poets are known for their literary masterpieces that combine the tropes of love, religion, and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In a thorough analysis of these works, readers find that not only were these prominent authors drawing from Sufi ideals to venerate the Prophet, but also outputting significant propositions and arguments that helped maintain the preservation of Islamic values, and rebuild Muslim culture in a South Asian subcontinent that had been in a state of colonization for centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : the Role of Al-Azhar, Al-Medina and Al-Mustafa Masooda Bano Editor
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by eCommons@AKU eCommons@AKU Exploring Muslim Contexts ISMC Series 3-2015 Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Masooda Bano Editor Keiko Sakurai Editor Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/uk_ismc_series_emc Recommended Citation Bano, M. , Sakurai, K. (Eds.). (2015). Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Vol. 7, p. 242. Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/uk_ismc_series_emc/9 Shaping Global Islamic Discourses Exploring Muslim Contexts Series Editor: Farouk Topan Books in the series include Development Models in Muslim Contexts: Chinese, “Islamic” and Neo-liberal Alternatives Edited by Robert Springborg The Challenge of Pluralism: Paradigms from Muslim Contexts Edited by Abdou Filali-Ansary and Sikeena Karmali Ahmed Ethnographies of Islam: Ritual Performances and Everyday Practices Edited by Badouin Dupret, Thomas Pierret, Paulo Pinto and Kathryn Spellman-Poots Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts: Perspectives from the Past Edited by Derryl MacLean and Sikeena Karmali Ahmed Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies: Understanding the Past Edited by Sarah Bowen Savant and Helena de Felipe Contemporary Islamic Law in Indonesia: Shariah and Legal Pluralism Arskal Salim Shaping Global Islamic Discourses: The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Edited by Masooda Bano and Keiko Sakurai www.euppublishing.com/series/ecmc
    [Show full text]